


Encounter

by endgame



Category: Hakuouki
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-06
Updated: 2015-08-06
Packaged: 2018-04-13 08:10:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4514442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/endgame/pseuds/endgame
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sano's and Shinpachi's meeting way back in the day gets as rowdy as both of them are.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> The idea for this fic was basically born from the fact that we do get to see Shinpachi and Heisuke meeting each other when Heisuke first joins Shieikan, but we never (from what I recall) see the same for Sano and Shinpachi. Hence this "what might have happened" sort of fic.

Something felt like it was missing. Don't get Shinpachi wrong, really -- life at Shieikan was pretty damn good. He'd been wandering around for a while now, going from dojo to dojo to try and pick up new things, but it was only this place that had really stuck for some reason or another. Not that he couldn't guess at those reasons. If anyone would ask him why he hadn't moved on from this place yet (other than the fact that a guy without any sort of income didn't really have any other place to rely on to get meals from, no matter how simple they got with Shieikan's limited budget) he'd say that it was run by a bunch of upright guys who were strong to boot. A lot of other places hadn't provided him with much challenge, but it was exactly at this place that Shinpachi was constantly reminded of the fact that despite all of his training and quite a lot of skill, there were still guys out there that could easily kick his ass. The amount of times he had ended up on the floor during sparring sessions with Souji had proven as much, after all.

But there was still one problem with all of it. Training was fine and all, sparring with any of the guys there was great, even talking to them didn't bore him exactly. But upright was still only one letter away from uptight, and it seemed that (other than Souji playing the not-so-occasional prank on Hijikata) there just weren't as much fun things to do around. Not that Shinpachi didn't connect with the other guys, but he found out fairly quickly that his level of being boisterous was just on another level entirely compared to the other guys. They weren't as much into drinking your ass off or doing dumb stuff for the hell of it. So even though they appealed to enough sides of Shinpachi that he gladly stuck around and tried to help out where he could and train as much as possible, there was still something missing. Something lacking in his life - not enough to be a real problem, but something to nag at the back of his head just a little during the moments when everyone seemed occupied and there was no one to spar with and things were just too quiet and _boring_.

At least today wasn't too much of a boring day. Sparring was happening all over the place since the morning and Shinpachi had gladly allowed himself to get fired up by it. But right as he was helping up a guy he had just managed to knock on his ass, some rumors reached his ears from various guys passing by. Someone new had apparently stopped by the dojo with the intention of testing their skill-- and Shinpachi sure wasn't enough above near childish curiosity to go check out the situation straight away.

It's exactly how he's ended up here. Trying to peer past the people already talking to the new guy that arrived in a way that's entirely not subtle (whether he thinks it's subtle or not is an entirely different debate though) and just generally being nosy. Kondou's talking to the guy, he could pick that voice apart from plenty of others in Shieikan even from a distance, but that's pretty much all he knows at first. But as a spot clears up in the circle of guys staring, Shinpachi is able to take a better look at the guy standing there. Bright red hair, apparently only a single sword at his hip-- but what draws his attention more than anything is the spear the other is casually holding at his side. It's not like it's entirely uncommon to see people use spears rather than swords, but it's still not like you meet them as often. It's why Shinpachi is already midway through his near-daydream of wondering what the other's skills with that are like and what it'd be like to fight that as he picks up the words "test your skill" from Kondou's mouth and even without context, the words that immediately come to Shinpachi's mind already fly out of his mouth without a filter.

"Oh, fight me then!"

His sudden words and eagerness suddenly bring a strange quiet over the room, but Shinpachi seems to at least regain his sense of self-awareness enough to realise it's pretty awkward and rude to boisterously butt in on a conversation you technically weren't part of, so he puts his hands together and makes a pleading face (sort of like the pathetic version of puppy eyes, but you won't hear him call it that) at Kondou.

"Kondou-san, everyone else's busy anyway.. Please lemme take care of it, alright?"

It seems the older man is at least used to Shinpachi's antics enough to think much of it (mostly due to being way too kind and forgiving, no doubt), so after him laughing it off and the new redhead not doing much more than quirking an eyebrow before agreeing, they two of them end up in one of the sparring rooms in the dojo. 

It's not like they're alone - some of the guys have gathered to watch, and even Kondou himself decided to reside over the spar despite how busy stuff usually gets for him. But Shinpachi doesn't really care about who's come to watch and who hasn't. It's not about showing off in front of a bunch of people, it's all about fighting someone new, seeing something new, experiencing something new. Trying to find out more about this other guy - after all, Shinpachi thinks you can't truly get to know a person unless you cross weapons with them at least once. Swords (and spears, in this case) are more honest than any kind of words or gestures. They tell of a person's nature better than anything else.

Gripping his practice sword tightly, Shinpachi grins at the other man. "Guess I should at least tell my name to someone whose ass I'm about to wipe the ground with." It's a bluff that's way over the top. Not entirely untrue, since Shinpachi damn well knows he's good with a sword and that his chances here are pretty big, but it's also just exaggerated because he wants to provoke the other a little. See what he can do, see if he can make this redhead give it his all - it's no fun otherwise, after all. "I'm Nagakura Shinpachi!"

The bluff doesn't seem to deter the other in the slightest though. While some of the people Shinpachi knows might have been annoyed with it, the other man only swings his practice spear before moving it into position on the other side of their little playing field. "Harada Sanosuke. That's a pretty weird way to talk about your own loss though, y'know?"

There's something oddly synchronized about the way they grin at each other after those statements - Shinpachi blames it on something hanging in the air, that thrill that he (and he's pretty sure everyone else too) feels at the beginning of a match. It has a weird effect on people, probably.

He hardly hears the way Kondou announces the match anymore, he's too busy staring at his opponent. He can see the other guy doing the same thing, anyway, amber eyes piercing into his own like there's nothing else coming through to him. At least they do both wait until the signal is given to start, the very last thing that registers with either of them before they're already dashing forward, raising their weapons.

Fighting against spears is always different to begin with from fighting against someone with a sword. There's a lot of things you need to keep in mind, if not just for the fact that the other person clearly already has the advantage of range - if you don't watch out, you'll have that thing whacking against your head before you've even managed to get close enough to put in a strike yourself. But it's not like Shinpachi doesn't have ways around it, it just involves a little more thinking.

Which automatically makes this match more enjoyable. Especially since this other guy isn't bad at all. Shinpachi has a harder time judging spearwork than swordsplay, obviously, but this guy is really keeping him on his toes. Every time he thinks he's found an open spot to strike at, the redhead turns and almost manages to hit him in return. Rather than it being frustrating in any way though, Shinpachi finds that it's _fun_. It's no fun he hasn't experienced before while fighting the other amazing guys at Shieikan, but there's something else about this way of fighting that really matches his own. It almost has a slight playful boisterous quality to it, where they're both testing to see how far they can go with the other. Shinpachi swears that the other guy has to be leaving uncovered spots for him at times just to see if he'll use the opportunity only to block him at the last moment. (And it isn't like he isn't doing the same in return, let's be honest here.) It's a match, sure, but there isn't anything stiff about it. It's like a game, going back and forth with strikes and blows, only barely missing the other at times.

It's only with real effort that he manages to finally actually land a blow when the other dares him by leaving a weak shot, and the two of them stare each other down wordlessly as Kondou calls out the point for Shinpachi. Not like they have to say much, anyway. It's not needed in the middle of letting their practice weapons speak, and the way the challenge burns into those amber eyes tells him enough that this isn't over yet.

They're right back at it for the next point, anyway, and it's like the challenger swings his spear with renewed vigor, a need for payback. There's a kind of passion and life in the swing of the spear that reminds Shinpachi a little of what drew him to Kondou in the first place - but whereas that kind of liveliness coming from Kondou is like a sunny day basking down on you, this is more edged, like a fire threatening to burn down everything around it if it'd be given the chance to get out of control. There's a kind of inner feelings that you wouldn't immediately be able to tell from the guy when he was standing there talking to Kondou talking earlier, like it's something he usually might hold back until he gets in a fight.

(Just the way Shinpachi likes it - there's no reason to hold back anything in a fight. If anything, it'd hurt his pride as a warrior.)

Except this time it's Shinpachi who's just a little bit too careless, or maybe the redhead who's a little too determined to not let it end the same way twice, and before he knows it he's already got the end of the spear aimed straight at his throat as he lifts his sword.

One point each.

Maybe they're putting a little bit too much into it since it's just a spar, yet the two of them already seem like they've been fighting off an entire army's worth of enemies with the way their chest rise and fall more obviously, their breaths getting shorter as they move into position once more. 

There's only one more blow left. They're even now, but whoever manages to hit the next one first wins - Shinpachi realises the other knows that just as well when their gazes cross again. It's written in his eyes.

So they're immediately on the move once more when Kondou announces the start of the next point again. Maybe even a little faster and harder than before. Not out of some sort of frustration, not with the way the corners of their lips curl up with every movement. Rather than that, it's excitement. There's nothing more fun than being able to go toe to toe with someone. Matches that are too easy are boring, matches that are too hard just frustrating for no reason, but when you have someone you're able to more or less evenly match with, that's when fighting gets fun. And it's never happened before in his life that someone matched up to Shinpachi's own wavelength so easily and instinctively.

But in the middle of the fight, something unexpected happens. The redhead swings his spear, manages to accidentally hit the ground with it a little too hard, and with a sound that seems to resonate through the entire building even more than the sounds of their spar, the wood snaps with a loud sound, leaving half of the spear in the other's hands and the other hand on the ground.

The whole scene seems to freeze at it for a moment. The newcomer looks down at the broken off piece of wood with a flabberghasted expression, like he has no clue how it just ended up there. Shinpachi's own gaze is drawn to it as well, and none of the onlookers make a sound either, as if everyone needs a moment to process what just happened in front of them.

But before anyone can call off the spar, there's movement in the room. There's another loud sound as Shinpachi's own practice sword (still in one piece) is thrown onto the ground, and only a moment later is the man throwing himself at the other. The combined weight of the two muscular guys is enough to not let either have any sort of balance anymore, and the two of them are sent toppling to the ground, the other piece of the spear that Sano was still holding landing next to them and rolling off to the side.

When Shinpachi glances down at the other's confused expression beneath him, he just grins. "This isn't over yet!" It's reckless, and maybe a little stupid, and it completely looks undignified.. but he isn't concerned with any of those things. Who cares about that, anyway? He was having a good spar here, someone who can match him in a way no one else seems to be able to do, and that means he isn't going to let it end with something as lame as a weapon breaking. It's a slightly childish desire, but he doesn't want it to end that easily. He wants it to keep going.

And even though for a moment it seems like this is where their odd connection shifts to different wavelengths, since the same expression remains on the other's face.. but slowly it shifts to a grin in turn, and Shinpachi doesn't even need to wait for his response to know he understands, that he feels the same.

Although his response makes it even more obvious. Because before Shinpachi can even do anything else, he's flipped over on his back, the other hovering over him instead now. "You wanna go at it so badly?"

The response draws a boisterous laugh out of Shinpachi, and a moment later the two of them are rolling all across the floor of the dojo, trying their damnest to stay on top and delivering punches back and forth. But despite the fact that it's obviously still a fight, even if it's swordless and a lot less dignified than the usual ones, there's nothing malicious about it. The two of them laugh as if they're having the time of their life, and it's probably that fact that makes all the onlookers realise that the real fight they came for is over, and that it's probably better to let the two of them have at it with their own little dumb thing. It's what that sigh Hijikata lets out seems to mean before he mumbles that there's better work to be done than this, and soon enough pretty much all the other onlookers have followed him out of the room (Kondou included, although there was a big smile on his face instead).

But it takes quite some time more before the two themselves have decided they're done. They're still wrestling on the floor even when it's just the two of them in the room, trying to get in hits in every way they can. The redhead tugs on Shinpachi's headband until it's practically discarded on the floor since it was just getting in the way, Shinpachi tries to get the other into a headlock before being punched aside-- it's raw and physical but so much fun, and the fight only stops for a moment when Shinpachi manages to latch onto the other's sarashi with his fingers and accidentally draws them down a little to reveal a rather big scar underneath - it doesn't stop Shinpachi as much as it seems to make Sano stop, an awkward look aimed at Shinpachi that the latter can't quite place before he gets right at it again and the two of them seemingly forget about it.

It's easy to lose all sense of time in the middle of this sort of thing, and what could be minutes or hours or even days later from the way Shinpachi feels they're both lying on their back on the floor of the dojo, panting like dogs, slight bruises littering their arms and chests, but fully satisfied. It takes moments before either of them has gathered enough breath again to speak.

It's Shinpachi who speaks up first though. "You know, that scar.."

It draws something more silent from the other man. Not in words, considering he hadn't said anything yet, but it's very much noticable in the way his breathing gets a little more quiet, like he's thinking. It's the first time since that quick moment during the fight that any instance between them could be considered awkward in any way.

".. What about it?"

"It's pretty impressive. You shouldn't hide it like that, that's no good." A deep breath. "Gotta intimidate your opponents a little, right? Show 'em you've been stronger than death."

There's a sound like a snort coming from the other man that changes into louder laughter after a moment. Laughter that continues on just a little bit too long and is just a little bit out of place, like there's some sort of great amusement in that statement to the other guy in a way Shinpachi can't really understand.

It's only when the laughter ebs away that the redhead actually replies, not moving an inch from his spot on the ground.

"Let's get some drinks."

"I'm broke."

"Me too." 

"Sounds like a bad plan then."

"Yeah."

Silence falls over the room again, but it's not awkward or uncomfortable. He's just lying there, staring up at the ceiling, but it's like there's some part of him that finally feels like it's been filled up. Like there's finally something he was missing in a pretty good life.

He lies there, and for a moment it feels almost oddly perfect.

So Shinpachi turns his head to stare at the way the other is still lying there just like him.

".. Sano."

"Yeah." Somehow the other doesn't even hesitate in replying to the shortening of his name. Maybe he's used to it, Shinpachi thinks. (It's actually since the same thought crossed his mind that went across Shinpachi's - right now it feels so perfect that it feels only natural to immediately slide into that sort of habit.)

"Let's just go see women instead."

"Are you kidding? What kinda woman is gonna want to stare at your mug unless you pay them?"

Once more the room is filled with laughter, only interrupted by a few winches from Shinpachi's elbow driving itself into Sano's side.


End file.
